{{Short description|American diplomat (1917–1994)}} {{infobox officeholder | name = | image = William Tapley Bennett.jpg | caption = W. Tapley Bennett, {{Circa|1965}} | office = 19th [[Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs]] | term_start = November 17, 1983 | term_end = January 4, 1985 | predecessor = [[Powell A. Moore]] | successor = [[William L. Ball]] | office1 = 12th [[United States Permanent Representative to NATO|U.S. Ambassador to NATO]] | president1 = [[Jimmy Carter]]<br>[[Ronald Reagan]] | term_start1 = April 26, 1977 | term_end1 = March 31, 1983 | predecessor1 = [[Robert Strausz-Hupé]] | successor1 = [[David Manker Abshire]] | office2 = [[U.S. Ambassador to Portugal]] | president2 = [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] | term_start2 = July 20, 1966 | term_end2 = July 21, 1969 | predecessor2 = [[George W. Anderson, Jr.]] | successor2 = [[Ridgway B. Knight]] | office3 = [[U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic]] | president3 = Lyndon B. Johnson | term_start3 = March 23, 1964 | term_end3 = April 13, 1966 | predecessor3 = [[John Bartlow Martin]] | successor3 = [[John Hugh Crimmins]] | birth_date = {{birth date|1917|04|01}} | birth_place = [[Griffin, Georgia]], U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1994|11|29|1917|04|01}} | death_place = [[Washington D.C.]], U.S. | party = | education = | alma_mater = [[University of Georgia]]<br>[[George Washington University Law School]]<br>[[National War College]] | spouse = Margaret Rutherfurd White | parents = | children = | relations = | resting_place = [[Washington National Cathedral]] }} '''William Tapley Bennett Jr.''' (April 1, 1917 – November 29, 1994) was an American [[diplomat]] who served as [[United States Ambassador to the Dominican Republic|Ambassador to the Dominican Republic]] during the [[Dominican Civil War|1965 civil war]] and who recommended that President Johnson intervene with United States troops.
==Early life== Bennett was born in [[Griffin, Georgia]] on April 1, 1917. He was the only child of William Tapley Bennett Sr. (1891–1982) and Annie Mem ([[née]] Little) Bennett (1894–1965).<ref name="Hebron1995">{{cite book |title=Hebron Presbyterian Church : God's Pilgrim People 1796-1996 |date=1995 |publisher=Dwight Tabor |location=[[Atlanta, Georgia]] |page=357 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YcxMtTlvsV4C&pg=PA357 |access-date=29 March 2019 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Tapley1993">{{cite book |last1=Tapley |first1=Ray |title=Tapley: A Family of Georgia and the South |date=1993 |publisher=Greencrest Press |page=1999 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AT9WAAAAMAAJ |access-date=29 March 2019 |language=en}}</ref>
His maternal grandparents were Peyton Brantley "Mem" Little and Julia Elizabeth (née Neal) Little.<ref name="Hebron1995"/>
Bennett attended the [[University of Georgia]] where he was a member of the [[Sigma Chi]] fraternity. After doing graduate work at the [[University of Freiburg]] in Germany from 1937 to 1938, he returned to the United States and earned a law degree from [[George Washington University Law School]].<ref name="WTBJrObit1994"/>
==Career== After graduation from law school, Bennett joined the [[United States Foreign Service|Foreign Service]] in 1941. He served as a [[United States Army]] intelligence officer during [[World War II]]. From 1951 to 1954, Bennett was Deputy Director to the Office of South American Affairs. From 1954 to 1955, he studied at the [[National War College]] and for two years after, he served as Special Assistant to the [[Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs]]. From 1957 to 1964, he acted as Counselor and Minister at the U.S. Embassies in [[Rome, Italy]], in [[Vienna, Austria]], and in [[Athens, Greece]].<ref name="uga">{{cite web |title=William Tapley Bennett, Jr. Papers |url=http://russelldoc.galib.uga.edu/russell/view?docId=ead/RBRL011WTB-ead.xml;query=%22reflections%20on%20georgia%20politics%20oral%20history%20collection%22;brand=default |website=russelldoc.galib.uga.edu |publisher=[[University of Georgia]] |access-date=29 March 2019}}</ref>
President [[Lyndon Johnson]] appointed him Ambassador to the Dominican Republic after the previous Ambassador, [[John Bartlow Martin]], resigned after the [[Kennedy assassination]] on the very day in which [[Juan Bosch (politician)|Juan Bosch]], then President of the Dominican Republic, was toppled in a [[coup d'etat]]. While Ambassador, Bennett "advised President Johnson and members of Congress that the revolt was led by Communists" and recommended President Johnson intervene with United States troops during the [[Dominican Civil War]].<ref name="WTBJrObit1994"/> Bennett was heavily criticized for his report and recommendation.<ref name="Palmer2015">{{cite book |last1=Palmer Jr. |first1=General Bruce |title=Intervention in the Caribbean: The Dominican Crisis of 1965 |date=2015 |publisher=[[University Press of Kentucky]] |isbn=9780813150024 |page=9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I5UfBgAAQBAJ&pg=PR9 |access-date=29 March 2019 |language=en}}</ref>
Reportedly "seeking relief from the tropical heat of the Dominican Republic,"<ref name="uga"/> Johnson appointed him the [[United States Ambassador to Portugal|Ambassador to Portugal]] in 1966.<ref>{{Cite web |date=16 June 1988 |title=The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project AMBASSADOR WILLIAM TAPLEY BENNETT, JR. |url=https://adst.org/OH%20TOCs/Bennett,%20W.%20Tapley%20Jr.toc.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240717191546/https://adst.org/OH%20TOCs/Bennett,%20W.%20Tapley%20Jr.toc.pdf |archive-date=17 July 2024 |access-date=17 July 2024 |website=Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training}}</ref> He served in that role until [[Richard Nixon]] became president in 1969 and he was succeeded by [[Ridgway B. Knight]], who up until that point was the [[United States Ambassador to Belgium|Ambassador to Belgium]].<ref name="WTBJrObit1994"/>
Beginning in 1972, he began to serve concurrently as Ambassador to the [[United Nations Security Council]] and Deputy [[United States Representative to the United Nations]].<ref name="uga"/> After [[Jimmy Carter]] became president in 1977, Bennett was appointed the [[United States Permanent Representative to NATO]], serving from 1977 through 1983, including when [[Ronald Reagan]] became president in 1981.<ref name="WTBJrObit1994"/>
On November 14, 1983, he was appointed [[Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs]], serving from November 17, 1983, to January 4, 1985.<ref name="WTBJrstate">{{cite web |title=William Tapley Bennett Jr. - People - Department History - Office of the Historian |url=https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/bennett-william-tapley |website=history.state.gov |publisher=[[United States Department of State|Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs United States Department of State]] |access-date=29 March 2019}}</ref>
===Later career=== After retiring in 1985 he served as adjunct professor of international law at the [[University of Georgia]].<ref name="WTBJrObit1994"/> From 1991 to 1992, he served as president of the [[Atlantic Treaty Association]].<ref name="uga"/>
==Personal life== On June 23, 1945, Bennett was married to Margaret Rutherfurd White in [[Bernardsville, New Jersey]].<ref name="1945Engagement">{{cite news|title=Margaret R. White Prospective Bride; Their Engagements Are Announced|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1945/03/12/archives/margaret-r-white-prospective-bride-their-engagements-are-announced.html|access-date=15 January 2018|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=12 March 1945}}</ref> Margaret, a [[Foxcroft School]] graduate who attended [[Barnard College]] and the Institute of Musical Art of the [[Juilliard School|Juilliard School of Music]], was the daughter of [[John Campbell White (diplomat)|John Campbell White]] (the [[United States Ambassador to Peru|U.S. Ambassador to Peru]] and [[United States Ambassador to Haiti|Haiti]]),<ref name="JCWObit1967">{{cite news|title=JOHN C. WHITE, 83, A CAREER DIPLOMAT|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/06/12/archives/john-c-white-83-a-career-diplomat.html|access-date=21 July 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=12 June 1967}}</ref> a granddaughter of [[Henry White (diplomat)|Henry White]] (the [[United States Ambassador to France| U.S. Ambassador to France]] and [[United States Ambassador to Italy|Italy]]),<ref name="1945Wedding">{{cite news|title=MARGARET R. WHITE MARRIED IN JERSEY; Daughter of Ex-Ambassador to Peru Becomes Bride of Lieut. William T. Bennett Jr. WEARS IVORY SATIN GOWN Rev. Robert Bosher Performs Ceremony in Bernardsville Church--Reception Held|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1945/06/24/archives/margaret-r-white-married-in-jersey-daughter-of-exambassador-to-peru.html|access-date=15 January 2018|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=24 June 1945}}</ref> and a niece of [[Jay Pierrepont Moffat]], the [[U.S. Ambassador to Canada]].<ref name="WMWObit1993">{{cite news|title=Elizabeth White, 94, An Environmentalist|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/22/obituaries/elizabeth-white-94-an-environmentalist.html|access-date=15 January 2018|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=22 June 1993}}</ref> Together, they were the parents of five children:<ref name="WTBJrObit1994"/>
* William Tapley Bennett III of [[Washington, D.C.]] * John Campbell White Bennett of [[Charleston, South Carolina]], a [[U.S. Navy]] [[Commander (United States)|Cmdr.]] * Anne B. Bennett of [[Lexington, Massachusetts]] * Ellen Pierrepont Bennett, who married Rev. Ralph C. Godsall, the Chaplain of [[Trinity College, Cambridge]], in 1980.<ref name="1980Wedding">{{cite news |title=Bennett-Godsall |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30054890/bennettgodsall/ |access-date=29 March 2019 |work=[[The Atlanta Constitution]] |date=April 27, 1980 |page=103 |language=en}}</ref> * Victoria R. Bennett of [[Seattle, Washington]].<ref name="Twins1950">{{cite news |title=Twins to William T. Bennetts Jr. |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1950/06/30/91107020.pdf |access-date=29 March 2019 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=30 June 1950}}</ref>
He died after a long illness in Washington D.C., on November 29, 1994.<ref name="WTBJrObit1994">{{cite news |last1=Lueck |first1=Thomas J. |title=William Tapley Bennett Jr., 77, Envoy to Dominican Republic |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9503E0DC1130F932A35751C1A962958260 |access-date=29 March 2019 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=1 December 1994}}</ref><ref name="WaPoObit1994">{{cite news |title=W.T. BENNETT, AMBASSADOR FOR LBJ, DIES |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1994/12/01/wt-bennett-ambassador-for-lbj-dies/56678c37-9ff2-416d-b076-72388e8a3dcb/ |access-date=29 March 2019 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=December 1, 1994}}</ref> His remains were interred in [[Washington National Cathedral]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Washington National Cathedral Guidebook |publisher=[[Washington National Cathedral]] |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-615-23612-4 |location=Washington, D.C. |pages=135}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== {{commons category|William Tapley Bennett Jr.}} * [http://russelldoc.galib.uga.edu/russell/view?docId=ead/RBRL011WTB-ead.xml;query=%22reflections%20on%20georgia%20politics%20oral%20history%20collection%22;brand=default William Tapley Bennett, Jr. Papers] * {{cite web|author1=Office of the Historian|author-link=Office of the Historian|title=William Tapley Bennett Jr. (1917–1994)|url=https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/bennett-william-tapley|language=en}} * {{Internet Archive short film|id=gov.dod.dimoc.26966|name=STAFF FILM REPORT 66-17A (1966)}}
{{s-start}} {{s-dip}} {{s-bef|before=[[John Bartlow Martin]]}} {{s-ttl |title = [[United States Ambassador to the Dominican Republic|U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic]] |years = March 23, 1964 – April 13, 1966 }} {{s-aft|after=[[John Hugh Crimmins]]}} {{s-bef|before=[[George W. Anderson, Jr.]]}} {{s-ttl |title = [[United States Ambassador to Portugal|U.S. Ambassador to Portugal]] |years = July 20, 1966 – July 21, 1969 }} {{s-aft|after=[[Ridgway B. Knight]]}} {{s-bef|before=[[Robert Strausz-Hupé]]}} {{s-ttl |title = [[United States Permanent Representative to NATO|U.S. Ambassador to NATO]] |years = April 26, 1977 – March 31, 1983 }} {{s-aft|after=[[David Manker Abshire]]}} {{s-gov}} {{succession box| before=[[Powell A. Moore]]| title=[[Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs]]| after=[[William L. Ball]]| years=November 17, 1983 – January 4, 1985 }} {{s-end}}
{{US Ambassadors to Portugal}} {{USNATOambassadors}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, William Tapley Jr.}} [[Category:1917 births]] [[Category:1994 deaths]] [[Category:People from Griffin, Georgia]] [[Category:Permanent representatives of the United States to NATO]] [[Category:Ambassadors of the United States to the Dominican Republic]] [[Category:Ambassadors of the United States to Portugal]] [[Category:George Washington University Law School alumni]] [[Category:University of Georgia faculty]] [[Category:United States Foreign Service personnel]] [[Category:20th-century American people]] [[Category:Burials at Washington National Cathedral]]